Director J.J. Abrams’ was given the opportunity to reinvigorate the Star Trek franchise with the 11th Star Trek movie, taking us back to where it all began with the first meeting of Spock and Kirk, and from the early reactions appearing online, he appears to have done just that with intelligence, style, wit, and a tremendous amount of energy. Reviews from the gala premiere in Sydney, Australia and later screenings in Austin Texas have been overwhelmingly positive.
“The result is a triumph,” reported The Australian, “certain to be regarded as not just one of Trek's better moments, but one of the finest films made in the sci-fi genre.”
The review went on to claim that “Star Trek is young again. It is sexy, but it also has a rich emotional depth among the jaw dropping effects. The film is a cracking yarn about the beginning of something even non-Trekkies know a bit about. Perhaps best of all, it is genuinely funny without trashing its subject, as, 1999's Galaxy Quest did. Abrams's triumph is that he will expand the fan base without alienating the faithful.”
“Abrams has not only rescued the old Star Trek franchise from artistic stagnation, artistic and commercial demise, but also from sinking into insignificance as an artificial pop culture phonem,” reports Emanuel Levy.com. “Abrams' Star Trek is a movie for ‘Here and Now!’ one that unlike Spielberg's retro Indiana Jones last year, is truly cool, reflecting state-of-the-art effects and the zeitgeist as far as technology and conceptions of time and space are concerned."
“The runtime flies by with very few lulls in the pacing,” CinemaBlend enthuses, “reinvigorating characters and a universe that had, let’s be honest, grown stale and tired. More than anything else, the movie just feels so much more fun than any previous entry. There’s more humor, more thrills, far more energy and a much better movie here than anything I’ve seen from Star Trek since the 80’s."
Urban Cinefile was equally ecstatic:
“J.J. Abrams has made a fabulous film that excels in all its elements. While it feels fresh in every way (an achievement in itself, for this 11th Star Trek film), great care has been taken to be respectful of the franchise and the characters created by Gene Roddenberry in the 60s, when they became cult favourites. Technically, everything stacks up. The sound and the sound mix is superb and rivals the extraordinary visuals for attention. Script - tick. Casting - tick. Direction - tick. Special effects - tick. It's an extraordinary achievement and great entertainment for all as we partake in an edge-of-seat thrill-ride.”
“The most exhilarating Trek to date marks a new future for Kirk and co.,” was Empire Magazine’s verdict. “If this can boldly go on to seek out ideas to match its speed and style, a franchise is reborn.”
The new Star Trek movie appears to have overwhelmed the critics, now we’ll have to see if it can overwhelm audiences too. It certainly appears to have passed the first critical tests with flying colours. Will this movie create a Star Trek revival as impressive as Christopher Nolan’s Batman revival? All the signs are good.
I was very disappointed with the last two Star Trek movies featuring Patrick Stewart and The Next Generation crew; especially Nemesis, with Captain Picard's clone and the second Data. Hopefully we're looking at a complete resurrection followed by a new J.J. Abrams Star Trek television series sometime in 2011.
There are 4 new Star Trek images Paramount sent us below, along with links to 3 new high resolution TV spots and a recent YouTube clip. Apart from the first YouTube clip, if you’ve watched the earlier trailers, there isn’t much new material, just tiny snippets blended in with footage we've seen before.
The new Star Trek movie hits theatres 9 May. Can't wait.
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